Challenges and goals:

Over the past 30 years, Coors Light's biggest competitor had spent millions to insert itself into the identity of Major League Baseball and its fans. However, the sport is actually the perfect drinking occasion for Coors Light. It’s a slow-paced game where fans unwind and chill with friends. Coors Light's challenge was connecting with this audience, who embodied the brand's values but were already spoken for. 

Execution:

The perfect moment arrived with one swing of a bat. During a live game on August 27th, 2023, Shohei Ohtani, the greatest player in baseball, broke a Coors Light ad with a foul ball, leaving a black square of broken pixels right on the can. The embarrassing flaw went viral on social and received coverage around the world. In response, Coors Light embraced the moment and shifted the narrative by turning it into an unofficial sports sponsorship with Shohei Ohtani. Within 48 hours, the brand launched a special edition can replicating Ohtani's broken ad on social, and even incorporated the black square into their own existing ads to promote it. Coors Light even took over Angel Stadium with Shohei’s broken ad during his first home game since the viral moment. 

Results and impact:

The cans sold out in just 24 hours, so fans started making and sharing their own merch. Even overseas fans, including fans in Shohei’s home country of Japan, wanted to get their hands on it, leading to Coors Light bringing their cans there for the first time ever. Back on home soil, the brand even trended higher than the official beer of baseball. With $0 in sponsorships or player endorsements, Coors Light broke the mold of sports marketing, all with one broken ad.